Method of manufacturing a transducer suspension system

ABSTRACT

A transducer suspension system has a transducer head, laminated member, and a load beam. The laminated member is comprised of a support layer, an electrically insulating layer, and an electrically conducting layer. The electrical lines are formed directly into the laminated member. A first end of the support layer has an aperture into which a tongue section protrudes. The transducer head is attached to the tongue section. A platform section is formed between the aperture and the end of the support layer. The electrical lines run to the transducer head along the platform section. The load beam is attached to the laminated member and provides rigid support. The load beam has an aperture located directly above the platform section and provides access to allow clamping of the electrical lines and the platform section during electrical attach of the lines to the transducer head. Precise electrical attachment is achieved without unwanted bending of the delicate flexure section of the suspension.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to transducer suspension systems andmore particularly to a suspension system and method for efficientmanufacture.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Direct access storage devices (DASD), or disk drives, store informationon concentric tracks of a rotatable magnetic recording disk. A magnetichead or transducer element is moved from track to track to record andread the desired information. Typically, the magnetic head is positionedon an air bearing slider which flies above the surface of the disk asthe disk rotates. In some recently proposed disk drives, the slider (orcarrier) rides on a liquid film or bearing on the disk. A suspensionassembly connects the slider to a rotary or linear actuator. Thesuspension provides support for the slider.

Examples of suspension systems are shown in the following references:U.S. Pat. No. 3,745,543 issued Jul. 10, 1973 to King; U.S. Pat. No.3,975,770 issued Aug. 17, 1976 to Spash et al; U.S. Pat. No. 4,642,716issued Feb. 10, 1987 to Wakabayashi et al; U.S. Pat. No. 4,759,119issued Jul. 26, 1988 to Noguchi et al; U.S. Pat. No. 4,811,141 issuedMar. 7, 1989 to McConica et al; U.S. Pat. No. 5,012,368 issued Apr. 30,1991 to Bosier et al; U.S. Pat. No. 5,343,344 issued Aug. 30, 1994 toNagase; U.S. Pat. No. 5,384,432 issued Jan. 24, 1995 to Noro et al; U.S.Pat. No. 5,392,179 issued Feb. 21, 1995 to Sendoda; and U.S. Pat. No.5,491,597 issued Feb. 13, 1996 to Bennin et al.

The suspension must meet several requirements. The suspension must beflexible and provide a bias force in the vertical direction. This isnecessary to provide a compensating force to the lifting force of theair bearing in order to keep the slider at the correct height above thedisk. Also, vertical flexibility is needed to allow the slider to beloaded and unloaded away from the disk. Another requirement of thesuspension is that it must provide a pivotal connection for the slider.Irregularities in operation may result in misalignment of the slider.The slider is able to compensate for these problems by pitching and/orrolling slightly to maintain the proper orientation necessary for theair bearing. Another requirement of the suspension is that it must berigid in the lateral direction. This is needed to prevent the head frommoving side to side, which would result in the head reading the wrongtrack.

As disk drives have become smaller in size, the recorded track densityhas increased dramatically. This has necessitated the use of smaller andsmaller heads and suspensions. However, these smaller geometries of thesuspension and head make manufacture much more difficult. In particular,it has become extremely difficult to attach the electrical wires alongthe suspension and connect them to the head. The process of connectingthe wires to the head may cause unwanted permanent deformation of thedelicate flexible end of the suspension. This in turn may cause theslider head to be misoriented and result in its inability to maintain aproper air bearing with resulting disk drive failure and loss of data.What is needed is a suspension design and method of manufacture whichlends itself to these smaller geometries.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Briefly, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, asuspension system comprises a rigid load beam member and a laminatedmember. The laminated member is comprised of three layers: a supportlayer, an electrically insulating layer, and an electrically conductinglayer. The laminated member is etched such that the electrical lines areformed in the conductive layer. A first end of the laminated member hasan aperture with a flexible tongue section jutting into the aperture.The slider/transducer head is attached to the tongue section. Betweenthe tongue section and the first end is a platform section whichprovides support for the electrical lines which pass to the front of theslider/transducer. This platform also permits reforming and correctionof the static attitude of the slider during bonding of the electricallines. The load beam is attached to one side of the laminated member andhas an aperture located directly over the platform section.

During manufacture of the suspension, a first pair of clamping membersengage the platform section from below, while a second pair of clampingmembers pass through the load beam aperture to engage the platformsection opposite to the first clamping members. The electrical lines arethen attached to the electrical pads on the slider/transducer head in apreferred sequence. During the attachment process, the platform sectionis held in an optimum position such that no unwanted permanentdeformation is caused in the tongue section. Additional steps in themanufacture process include loading and unloading the suspension andhead from a specially designed tool block and the attachment of the headto the suspension.

The result is a suspension design which may be manufactured in a veryefficient automated or manual process.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and advantages of the presentinvention, reference should be made to the following detaileddescription taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a data storage system of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a detailed perspective view of a suspension system of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 4a, 4b, 4c, and 4d are top views of various layers of thesuspension of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a top view of an automated assembly system for the assembly ofthe suspension of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a side view of a tool block used in the system of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a detailed perspective view of the suspension of FIG. 3 duringthe manufacture process;

FIGS. 8a, 8b, and 8c are side views of the suspension of FIG. 3 duringthe manufacturing process; and

FIGS. 9a, 9b, and 9c are side views of the suspension of FIG. 3 duringthe manufacturing process.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIGS. 1 and 2 show schematic diagrams of the data storage system of thepresent invention which is designated by the general reference number10. System 10 comprises a plurality of magnetic recording disks 12. Eachdisk has a plurality of concentric data tracks. Disks 12 are mounted ona spindle motor shaft 14, which is connected to a spindle motor 16.Motor 16 is mounted to a chassis 18. The disks 12, spindle 14, and motor16 comprise a disk stack assembly 20.

A plurality of read/write heads 30 are positioned over the disks 12 suchthat each surface of the disks 12 have a corresponding head 30. Eachhead 30 is attached to one of a plurality of suspensions 32 which inturn are attached to a plurality of actuator arms 34. Arms 34 areconnected to a rotary actuator 36. Alternatively, the arms 34 may be anintegral part of a rotary actuator comb. Actuator 36 moves the heads ina radial direction across disks 12. Actuator 36 typically comprises arotating member 38 mounted to a rotating bearing 40, a motor winding 42and motor magnets 44. Actuator 36 is also mounted to chassis 18.Although a rotary actuator is shown in the preferred embodiment, alinear actuator could also be used. The heads 30, suspensions 32, arms34 and actuator 36 comprise an actuator assembly 46. The disk stackassembly 20 and the actuator assembly 46 are sealed in an enclosure 48(shown by dashed line) which provides protection from particulatecontamination.

A controller unit 50 provides overall control to system 10. Controllerunit 50 typically contains a central processing unit (CPU), memory unitand other digital circuitry. Controller 50 is connected to an actuatorcontrol/drive unit 56 which in turn is connected to actuator 36. Thisallows controller 50 to control the movement of heads 30 over disks 12.The controller 50 is connected to a read/write channel 58 which in turnis connected to the heads 30. This allows controller 50 to send andreceive data from the disks 12. Controller 50 is connected to a spindlecontrol/drive unit 60 which in turn is connected to spindle motor 16.This allows controller 50 to control the rotation of disks 12. A hostsystem 70, which is typically a computer system, is connected to thecontroller unit 50. System 70 may send digital data to controller 50 tobe stored on disks 12, or may request that digital data be read fromdisks 12 and sent to the system 70. The basic operation of DASD units iswell known in the art and is described in more detail in "MagneticRecording Handbook", C. Dennis Mee and Eric D. Daniel, McGraw Hill BookCompany, 1990.

FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of a head 30 attached to a suspension32. This combination is referred to as a suspension assembly or headgimbal assembly (HGA) 80. Suspension 32 has a longitudinal axis 100, alateral axis 102 and a vertical axis 104. Suspension 32 is comprisedwith a load beam 110 and a laminated member 112. Laminated member 112 isformed from a three-layer laminated material comprised of a steelsupport layer, an electrically insulating layer, and an electricallyconductive layer. The various layers of the laminated member 112 areetched away in a photolithographic process to form the desired shapes.

The suspension 32 is extremely small. The distance from the point ofattachment to the actuator arm 34 to the end of the suspension istypically about 18 mm. The head 30 typically measures 1.25 mm×1.00mm×0.30 mm. These dimensions vary according to the disk, file and slidersize.

The electrically conducting layer and electrically insulating layer areetched to form electrical lines 120 which run from a rear terminationpad area 122 to the head 30. Head 30 is comprised of a slider andtransducer electronics. The electrical lines 120 terminate and areelectrically attached to the head 30 at the head termination pads 132.The electrical lines 120 are bent vertically upward at the headtermination pads 132.

The support layer of the laminated member 112 is formed into a baseplate member 140 and a flexure member 142. The base plate member 140 isattached to an actuator arm 34 by swage, welding, or an adhesiveprocess. Flexure member 142 provides a gimbal mount for attachment ofthe head 30. The gimbal mount allows the head 30 to pivot in order toadjust its orientation (static attitude) to achieve the proper airbearing between the head 30 and disk 12 while the disk 12 is rotating.The flying height of the head 30 varies from near contact to 100 nmdepending upon the design, but typically during operation is 50 nm orless height above the disk. Proper alignment of the head 30 on thegimbal mount is critical.

Both the base plate 140 and flexure 142 also serve the purpose ofproviding support for the electrical lines 120.

FIGS. 4a-4d show top views of the various overlying element layers ofsuspension 32. FIGS. 4a-4c show respectively, the electricallyconducting layer 150, the electrically insulating layer 152 and thesupport layer 154 of the laminated member 112. Initially, the layers150, 152 and 154 are layers in a single laminated sheet of material. Themember 112 is then formed from the sheet by using photolithographic etchprocesses as are known in the art. Layer 150 is made of a conductingmaterial such as copper. In a preferred embodiment, the material iscopper and has a thickness of between 2 and 25 microns and preferably 18microns. Layer 152 is made of an electrically insulating material and ina preferred embodiment is made of polyimide or Teflon and has athickness of between 5 and 25 microns and preferably 18 microns. Layer154 is made of a thin stiff material which is able to bend slightly, andin a preferred embodiment is made of stainless steel and has a thicknessof between 12 and 30 microns and preferably 18 microns.

Referring now to FIG. 4a. The electrical lines 120 comprise fourseparate lines. In a preferred embodiment, two of the lines run to theinductive element in the head 30 which is used to write data and two ofthe lines run to the magnetoresistive element in the head which is usedto read data. Each of the lines has a thin rectangular cross section.The lines 120 start at the termination pad area 122. Pads 122 provideconnection to the read/write channel 58. The pads 122 are located on theside of the actuator arms 34 when the drive is fully assembled. Thelines 120 run from the side of the arm 34 toward the center longitudinalaxis 100 of the suspension 32. The lines 120 then run in a generallylongitudinal direction toward the head 30.

The lines separate to run along both sides of two apertures 200 and 202.The apertures 200 and 202 are used to provide access for tooling pinswhich are used to align the laminated member and the load beam duringmanufacturing. Another separation of the lines 120 occurs at points 204and 206 and are used to provide some slack in the lines 120 to allow formovement of the suspension during operation.

At the distal end of suspension 32, the lines 120 separate and run alongeither side of head 30, then turn backward the head 30 to terminate atthe front face of head 30 at the head termination pads 132. This isnecessary because the transducer electronics are located on the frontface of the slider. The lines 120 are bent 90° vertically in order tointerface with pads 132.

FIG. 4b shows a top view of the electrically insulating layer 152. Layer152 is shaped to provide electrical insulation protection to the lines120 which directly overlay the layer 152. Layer 152 forms an insulatingstrip 210 directly beneath the lines 120. At the head area, layer 152 isshaped into a series of pads 212 which underlie lines 120. This is doneto allow the lines 120 to be more flexible at the head area such thatthe lines 120 do not interfere with movement of the head 30.

FIG. 4c shows a top view of the support layer 154. Base plate member 140provides support for the rear section of the lines 120. Flexure member142 has a rear portion 220 and a front portion 222. Front portion 222 israised slightly above the plane of rear portion 220 by means of astamped bend 224. The front portion 222 has a distal end 226 having afront platform 228 which provides support for lines 120. Behind platform228 is a flexure aperture 230. A tongue section 232 provides support andan attachment point for head 30. Between tongue section 232 and platform228 are a pair of rectangular apertures 234. Apertures 234 allow thebase for the lines 120 to bend as they approach the termination pads132. A pair of tabs 236 extend from tongue section 232 and function asmotion limiters when they are bent back under load beam 110. A section280 (known as the dog bone) is located between the apertures 234.

FIG. 4d shows a top view of load beam 110. Load beam 110 is generallyflat and rigid and made of a stainless steel or other rigid material. Inthe preferred embodiment, the load beam 110 is stainless steel of about0.025 to 0.075 mm. thick and preferably 0.050 mm. It is desirable tomaintain the weight and inertia of the load beam 110 as small aspossible without compromising its structural rigidity.

Load beam 110 has a depressed section 250 which is used to provideadditional structural stiffness. Section 250 has an aperture 252 whichis used for locating the suspension during the assembly process.

Beam 110 has a distal end with a tab 254 which is used for merging theslider over the disk and loading/unloading of the slider duringoperation of the drive. An aperture 256 is located behind tab 254. Atongue section 258 extends into aperture 256. A stamped raised button ordimple 260 is located on tongue 258. Dimple 260 contacts tongue section232 of flexure member 154 and allows head 30 to gimbal (pitch and roll)slightly such that it allows the air bearing to follow the disk contouras it flies over the disk. A pair of corners 262 of aperture 256 providea contact point for tabs 236 of flexure 154 such that tabs 236 passunder load beam 110 and provide a motion limiting function for theflexure member 154. Beam 110 is also formed by a photolithographicprocess and the raised features are stamped.

The laminated member 112 and the load beam 110 are attached to eachother by laser welding while the pieces are held in tooling pins whichpass through apertures 200 and 202.

FIG. 5 shows a top view of an automated assembly system for suspension32 and is designated by the general reference number 300. System 300comprises five separate stations: a head load station 302, a suspensionload station 304, a head attach station 306, an electrical attachstation 308, and a suspension off load station 310. The system 300 has acircular conveyor belt 320 which runs around all of the stations. Thebelt 320 carries a plurality of tool blocks 322 which are constantlymoving from station to station.

FIG. 6 shows a side view of a tool block and is designated by thegeneral reference number 322. Block 322 has a solid base member 324 anda suspension holder member 326. Holder 326 has tab members 328 which areused to hold a suspension 32. Holder 326 is pivotally mounted to base324 by a rotational pivot 330. Pivot 330 is spring loaded such thatholder 326 is bias towards the down position against base member 324.The pivot 330 also has a position latch which allows holder 326 to stayin an up or down position.

Base 324 has an aperture 340 for receiving a head 30. Base 324 also hasa pair of support pins 342 (only one of which is shown) located oneither side and in front of the aperture 340.

Returning now to FIG. 5. At station 302, a single slider head 30 isplaced into aperture 340 of tool block 322 by an automated robot hand400. The tool block is then conveyed to station 304. At station 304, asingle suspension 32 is placed in holder 326 of the tool block 322. Atthis stage, the suspension 32 comprises the attached load beam andlaminated member as shown in FIG. 3, but without the head 30. At station304 an automated robot hand is used to load the suspension 32.

Next, at station 306 a glue dispensing machine 404 dispenses a smallamount of adhesive to the top surface 406 of head 30 in tool block 322.The amount of glue is just enough to provide sufficient bonding betweenhead 30 and suspension 32.

After the glue is dispensed, a machine 410 moves holder 326 from an upposition to a down position such that tongue section 230 of suspension32 engages the top surface 406 of head 30. The tool block 322 is thensent along the conveyor belt 320 to station 308. Sufficient time isallowed to pass such that the adhesive is cured before it reachesstation 308.

At station 308, a machine 420 electrically connects lines 120 to pads132 of head 30.

FIG. 7 shows a bottom perspective view of suspension 32 and head 30 atstation 308. One of the two support pins 342 of tool block 322 engagesthe lines 120 at platform section 228. Tab 342 engages platform 228 at alocation to the side of head 30 such that the front side of the sliderand the pads 132 are not obstructed during the electrical line bondingprocess. Another tab 430 comes down vertically from machine 420, passingthrough aperture 256 of load beam 110 to engage and support platform 228from the opposite side.

Another pair of tabs similar to 342 and 430 engage platform 228 on theopposite side of head 30 such that they are symmetrical with respect totabs 342 and 430. They are not shown in this drawing in order not toobscure the view of the termination pads. With both sets of tabsengaged, lines 120 and platform 228 are held secure such that nomovement is possible. After these tabs are engaged, machine 420 proceedsto extend an ultrasonic bonding wedge tool 440 to engage the pads 132one at a time. As tool 440 engages the pads, it presses against thefront of head 130 to hold it in place against the back of aperture 340of tool block 322. The tool uses ultrasonic vibrations (approximately 40kHz.) to fuse the lines 120 to pads 132. The tool 440 is moved from padto pad until all electrical bonds have been completed. The tool 440 isthen retracted and the clamping tabs are released. Although ultrasonicbonding is preferred, other metal fusion technology may be used, such asthermo compression bonding.

In a preferred embodiment, the pads 132 are bonded in a balancedfashion. The tool 440 does not bond all the pads at one time, but ratherbonds each individual pad one at a time. The pads 132 are designated bylower case a, b, c, and d from left to right along the slider face. In apreferred embodiment, the tool 440 bonds the pads in a symmetricalfashion from the inner most to outer most. For example, the tool 440 maygo from pad b to pad c to pad d and finally to pad a. Other alternativesequences include: b, c, a, d; c, b, d, a; c, b, a, d. This alternatingpattern from inside pads to outside pads is preferred because theresulting bonded leads are quite rigid and introduce a bending force.Even though the platform 228 is securely clamped, the tongue 232 of theflexure 154 is still flexible. The bending force from the first bondedlead may cause the slider 30 to roll about the longitudinal axis of thesuspension. The slider 30 will roll down towards the side which has beenbonded first. Therefore, in order to minimize this effect, it ispreferred that the bonding be done in the alternating manner. Theresulting forces tend to cancel one another out and the slider stays inthe optimum level position.

In certain cases, in may be desirable to intentionally adjust the staticattitude of the slider 30 such that it is rolled permanently to one sideor the other. This can be accomplished during the manufacturing processby merely bonding one side first and then the other. This effect wouldbe maximized by bonding in the sequence a,b,c,d or d,c,b,a.

The ability to hold platform 228 securely at an optimum location duringthe bonding process is critical. The suspension and head are very smalland delicate. Flexure member 154 is easily bent. Yet, the electricalbonds between lines 120 and pads 132 must be made very strong. In thepast, larger heads and suspensions used relatively large separate wiresto conduct electricity to the heads. The flexures were relatively largeand strong. Bonding the wires did not substantially bend the flexure.However, the smaller geometries of the present suspension require smallflexures which are easily bent. The present invention provides asuspension design and process which allows for attachment of theelectrical lines without bending the flexure.

After the electrical bonding process is completed, the tool block 322 isconveyed to station 310. A robot arm 500 at station 310 raises holder326 to the up position and then removes the completed suspensionassembly 80 from the tool block 322.

FIGS. 8a, 8b, and 8c show a side view of the suspension during theelectrical bonding process. FIG. 8a shows the location of the tool 440in the preferred embodiment. The tool 440 approaches each of theelectrical pads 132 such that the longitudinal center line of the tool440 is approximately aligned with the center horizontal plane 500 ofslider 30. In this case, the electrical bonding will be done at thecenter of the slider. When the connection occurs at the center of theslider the slider will remain in a level position.

In some applications, it may be desirable to pitch the slider around itslateral axis either up or down slightly. The present invention canachieve this pitch by varying the location of the tool 440. In FIG. 8bthe tool 440 approaches pad 132 such that the center line of the tool440 is beneath the center plane 500 of slider 30. The bonding takesplace below the center of the slider and the slider 30 will pitch alongits lateral axis in a downward angle. FIG. 8c shows the tool 440approaching pad 132 such that the center line of the tool 440 is abovethe center plane 500 of slider 30. The bonding takes place above thecenter plane 500 of slider 30 and the slider 30 will pitch around itslateral axis in an upward angle.

FIGS. 9a, 9b, and 9c show a side view of the suspension during theelectrical bonding process. FIG. 9a shows the positions of the clamps430 and 342 as in the preferred embodiment of the process of the presentinvention. In this case the position of the clamps are adjusted suchthat the clamped platform 228 extends in a straight horizontal plane. Insome cases, it may be desirable to have the slider pitch around itslateral axis. In FIG. 9b the clamps 430 and 342 clamp the platform 228such that the platform 228 is bent downward. This causes the slider 30to pitch downward around its lateral axis. In FIG. 9c the clamps 430 and342 clamp platform 228 such that the platform 228 is bent upward. Thiscauses the slider 30 to pitch around its lateral axis in a upwarddirection.

The positions of the clamps 430 and 342 may also be used to impart aroll angle to the slider 30. In such a case, the clamps could beadjusted so that the clamps on one side of the platform 228 bend theplatform downward and the clamps on the other side of the platform bendit upward. This would permanently bend the platform 228 such that theslider 30 is rolled at a slight angle along its longitudinal axis.

There are many alternative embodiments of the present invention. Forexample, it may be desirable to use the combination of tool location asshown in FIGS. 8 and clamp location as shown in FIGS. 9 to get variouscombinations of pitch and roll to the slider 30.

Another alternative embodiment of the present invention is to use asingle pair of clamping member 342 and 430 rather than two pair as inthe preferred embodiment. This single pair of clamps could engage theplatform 228 at a central location. In one embodiment, the clamps couldengage the platform 228 at the dog bone section 280.

Another alternative embodiment of the present invention is that thecombination of clamp member location and tool location may be used toadjust or rework suspensions wherein the slider 30 is out of alignment.For example, during the manufacturing process, a certain number ofsuspension assemblies may have their sliders 30 bent at an undesirableangle which does not fall within the required tolerances. Placing theserejected parts back in the tool block and running them through thebonding step of the process again will result in bringing them closer tocompliance. Alternatively, the rejected parts could be placed in arework tool (similar to a tool block) which bends the parts to thedesired shape. The clamping members of the tool block will tend to bendthe platform 228 to its desired position. The slider 30 will need to beheld rigid during this process step.

Another feature of the present invention is that the bonding tool 440actually helps to support the platform 228 during the bonding process.See FIG. 8a. As the tool 440 presses on the electrical leads theplatform 228 tends to bow downward. This is undesirable because it mayeffect the permanent orientation of the slider 30. However, the tool 440comes in horizontally and acts to limit the downward bow of the platform228 and thereby helps prevent any unwanted deformations. As the platform228 bows downward it engages the top surface of tool 440.

Other advantages of the present invention may now be understood. Thelaminated suspension allows for the creation of small suspensiongeometries which are required in the small disk drives of today. Theelectrical lines are formed integrally into the suspension itself andthis does away with the requirement to separately string and attachwires or wire lead assemblies (harnesses) to the suspension. The wirestringing and attachment processes were major steps needed in anassembly process. The present suspension design lends itself to anefficient assembly process whereby the head is attached to thesuspension with a minimum of steps. The design of the suspension allowsa machine to clamp the front platform 228 such that the platform 228 isheld in an optimum position during the electrical bonding process. Inaddition, the present invention teaches a process whereby theorientation of the slider 30 may be deliberately set at a pitch or rollangle by varying the tool 440 and/or clamping locations on the platform228. The tool 440 and the clamps 342 and 430 may be used to bend theflexure 142 an amount sufficient to impart a permanent deformation inthe material such that a desired orientation is achieved.

While the preferred embodiments of the present invention have beenillustrated in detail, it should be apparent that modifications andadaptations to those embodiments may occur to one skilled in the artwithout departing from the scope of the present invention as set forthin the following claims.

We claim:
 1. A method for making a suspension system comprising thesteps of:receiving a suspension having a first and a second surface andhaving a main body and a flexible portion, a transducer head attached tothe flexible portion on a first surface of the suspension, thesuspension having electrical lines which run along a first surface ofthe suspension main body to the transducer head; placing a first and asecond clamp member in contact with the suspension, the first clampmember in contact with the suspension proximate to the transducer head,the second clamp member in contact with the second surface of thesuspension directly opposite the first clamp member; and then while thesuspension is so clamped performing an electrical line attachment stepto attach the electrical lines to the transducer head.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein a portion of the suspension is formed from a threelayer material having a support layer, an electrically insulating layer,and an electrically conducting layer.
 3. The method of claim 1, whereinthe main body of the suspension includes a load beam member attached tothe second surface of the suspension and the load beam member has anaperture opposite the contact area of the second clamp member.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the process further includes the step ofloading a suspension and a transducer head into a tool block.
 5. Themethod of claim 4, wherein the process further includes the step ofattaching the transducer head to the suspension.
 6. The method of claim5, wherein the attachment of the transducer head to the suspension isdone using an adhesive.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the electricalline attachment step comprises using ultrasonic bonding.
 8. The methodof claim 1, wherein the transducer head has a plurality of attachmentpads and the electrical lines are attached to the pads in a symmetricalpattern.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the transducer head has aplurality of attachment pads and the electrical lines are attached tothe pads an asymmetrical pattern.
 10. A method for making a suspensionsystem comprising the steps of:loading a suspension and a transducerhead into a tool block, the suspension having a first and a secondsurface and having a main body and a flexible portion, the suspensionhaving electrical lines which run along a first surface of thesuspension main body; dispensing an adhesive to the head and positioningthe suspension such that the flexible portion of the suspension contactsthe adhesive on the head; curing the adhesive; placing a first and asecond clamp member in contact with the suspension, the first clampmember in contact with the first surface of the suspension proximate tothe transducer head, the second clamp member in contact with the secondsurface of the suspension directly opposite the first clamp member; andbonding the electrical lines to the transducer head while the clamps arein place.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein a portion of thesuspension is formed from a three-layer material having a support layer,an electrically insulating layer, and an electrically conducting layer.12. The method of claim 10, wherein the main body of the suspensionincludes a load beam member attached to the second surface of thesuspension and the load beam member has an aperture opposite the contactarea of the second clamp member.
 13. The method of claim 10, wherein theelectrical line attachment step comprises using ultrasonic bonding. 14.The method of claim 10, wherein the transducer head has a plurality ofattachment pads and the electrical lines are attached to the pads in asymmetrical pattern.
 15. The method of claim 10, wherein the transducerhead has a plurality of attachment pads and the electrical lines areattached to the pads in an asymmetrical pattern.
 16. The method of claim10, wherein the bonding of the electrical lines is achieved with abonding tool, the bonding tool location being varied in order to achievea desired orientation of the slider.
 17. The method of claim 10, whereinthe bonding is achieved using a bonding tool which supports thesuspension during the bonding process.
 18. The method of claim 10,wherein the suspension has a platform for engaging the clamping members.19. The method of claim 10, wherein the location of the clamping membersare adjusted in order to bend the suspension to achieve the desiredslider location.
 20. The method of claim 10, wherein the location of theclamping members are adjusted in order to bend the suspension to achievea desired slider location as a rework step.